“Winter still has a run to go, I’ve seen my shadow this morning and it says it’s going to be more weeks of winter, but the cold has certainly returned but it won’t stay as long as it did.”

Phillips notes temperatures throughout the winter were around the average for Northern Alberta – although he did mention the fact we had some warm spells throughout January as well as days where we saw -40 degrees without the windchill.

Over the next couple of months, Phillips says the chances of having freezing cold weather that lasts for days is quite unlikely.

“The first week of February looks a little cold but then we see things warming up – we may even see some melting temperatures.”

He notes people can look forward to the summer as it’s looking like we’ll have warmer than normal temperatures.

Meanwhile, two other famous Canadian Groundhogs are having mixed results. Shubenacadie Sam in Nova Scotia is joining Balzac Billy in predicting an early spring while Ontario’s Wiarton Willie saw his shadow meaning six more weeks of winter.